Montana, 2001

Flash Flood and Hail in Montana, July 26, 2001

July 26, 2001 · NWS GGW · 8 events in 3 counties and zones

5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 26, 8:00 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 8:00 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
900 AM MDT THU JUL 26 2001

STRONG THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX IN OUR SW ZONES HAS BEEN SEVERE THIS
MORNING WITH 1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL 15 MILES S OF GRASSRANGE.

THE INDUCING UPPER FEATURE WILL BE THE MAIN FOCUS FOR THE CWA TODAY...
AND IS SEEN NICELY ON THE MESO-ETA. THE ATMOS IS PRIMED OVER THE CWA
TODAY WITH CAPES ALREADY OVER 1000 J/KG AND LI/S NEAR -5 IN MY SE
ZONES. ZONES ALREADY MENTION POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE STORMS OVER THIS
AREA FOR TODAY...SO WILL LEAVE ALONE. REST OF FORECAST LOOKS GOOD.
JAMBA

EXTENDED...MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD. UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH DIGS IN OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST PLACING THE REGION IN
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT SATURDAY. SHOULD POSSIBLY SEE SOME SEVERE
CONVECTION AS SURFACE FRONT COLLIDES WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 60S LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT. AVN SHOWING BEST OMEGA FOR OUR CWA ALONG THE
CANADIAN BORDER. SUNDAY...WILL SEE SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS AS TROUGH
SLIDES NORTHEAST...THEN GRADUAL WARMING TREND THROUGH THE PERIOD.
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES AS TROUGH BECOMES ELONGATED WITH THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A CUTOFF LOW OFF THE COAST OF OREGON...SO WILL KEEP
CHANCE OF TS THROUGH THE REST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. GILCHRIST/EBERT

KGGW /084 057/087 063/089 056/081 055/082 054/082 056/083
      BBTTTTT  90332/9763333
KGDV /083 062/086 063/088 057/080 055/082 054/082 056/081
      TBTTTTT  90442/9763333

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Garfield

When
July 26, 9:30 AM MST
Where
Garfield County, 4 mi N of Sand Spgs
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.150, -107.483

Hail, Phillips

When
July 26, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Phillips County, Content
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.050, -107.533

Hail, Garfield

When
July 26, 2:05 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 15 mi SE of Sand Spgs
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.950, -107.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
July 26, 2:05 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 15 mi SE of Sand Spgs
Measured
54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.950, -107.250

Hail, Garfield

When
July 26, 2:30 PM MST to 2:45 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 20 mi W of Cohagen
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.033, -107.017

Flash Flood, Garfield

When
July 26, 2:30 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, East Portion
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several creeks, swollen from heavy rainfall throughout the month of July, flowed out of their banks as another 3 to 5 inches of rainfall fell across the eastern portion of Garfield County. Also, one inch hail that was at least a foot deep, melted and flowed into areas creeks. Wildcat Creek, which is usually dry or very low during July, was 15 feet high, and well out of its banks according to the emergency manager.

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
July 26, 3:38 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 15 mi SE of Cohagen
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.883, -106.367

Hail, Prairie

When
July 26, 5:30 PM MST
Where
Prairie County, 30 mi E of Terry
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.783, -104.667

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5261505, 5261504, 5261506, 5261507, 5261508, 5261511, 5261509, 5261510.